Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Avocado Stuffed Pork Chops


Ingredients
  • 2-3* (1-inch thick) boneless pork loin chops
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1/2 avocado mashed
  • 1 Tbs lemon juice
  • 2 tsp olive oil or butter
  • 2 cloves galic (minced)
  • 1/2 avocado diced
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 tbs olive or canola oil
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut a deep pocket into the side of the pork chops, be careful not to poke through the other side.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  2. In a bowl, combine mashed avocado, lemon juice, oil/butter, garlic and s&p to taste and mix well.  Stir in diced avocado.
  3. Using a small spoon, fill the pockets in the pork chops with the avocado mixture.  Secure with toothpick if needed.  Dip both sides of the pork chops in the flour.
  4. Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet and add the chops.  Brown on both sides and transfer to the oven.
  5. Bake for 20-30 minutes until done (meat thermometer reads 155 degrees).  Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.
I loved this dish, it was easy to make and was a great way to have pork chops!  Even my husband who is not a huge avocado fan loved them! 

*I used 2 pork chops but had plenty of the filling to do a 3rd.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Chicken and Potato Soup

Chicken and Potato Soup

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
  • 2 Tbl Butter
  • 2-3 cups diced chicken breast
  • 2 Leeks cut in half and sliced
  • 2-3 medium potatoes, diced
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
  • 1 (11 oz) can corn, drained
  • 1 1/2 milk 
  • 2 cans low sodium chicken broth
  • water (add extra as needed to cover veggies, I ended up using about 1-2 cups)
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder (you can also use fresh garlic)
  • Hot pepper sauce to taste (make sure you do taste it because it can get spicy!)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, add the chicken and cook 10 minutes, or until evenly browned and juices run clear.
  2. Mix in leeks, potatoes, carrots, and corn.  Pour in milk, broth and water enough to cover all ingredients.  Season with hot sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 
  3. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, and continue cooking 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are tender.

This was a great tasty healthy soup.  I used veggies from my Bountiful Basket I got and boy was it good!  I got to use 4 different color of carrots and that really made for a pretty soup. Fell free to experiment with the veggies you throw in whatever you have on hand really.  You could even use a frozen mixed veggie bag.